One focus per day, building to a timed run. Work it in order.
Ranked from analysed past papers. Start at the top: if you run out of time, you will have covered the most-tested ground.
Tested on every Edexcel paper, calculator and non-calculator. Always worth setting up algebraically, never worth guessing
A very high-frequency calculator topic. Finding the original amount before a percentage change, not just calculating the new amount
Appears on calculator papers most series, often combined with unit conversion. Set up the formula triangle before you calculate
A reliable calculator-paper topic worth 4-6 marks: plotting points, drawing a line of best fit, and reading off a prediction within the data range
A high-frequency 3D geometry topic. Both formulae are on the formula sheet, but picking the right one and substituting correctly is where marks are lost
Higher tier only. A very high-frequency topic on rounding and truncation: know the difference between an upper bound and a value that rounds up to a given figure
Higher tier only. Tree diagrams without replacement, where the second branch's probabilities depend on the first outcome
Higher tier only. The bar height is frequency density (frequency divided by class width), not frequency. This single fact is worth learning properly
PrepWise has a one-page Knowledge Organiser for every topic above. In the final 3 days, use them the same way each time: cover the page, try to recall the method and a worked example from memory, check what you missed, then repeat the next day.
Rules specific to Paper 2. On this paper, structure earns as many marks as knowledge.
Edexcel awards method marks on Paper 2 exactly as it does on Paper 1. Typing a correct sequence into your calculator and writing only the final answer risks losing marks if you slip and mistype a number. Write the calculation you are performing, then the answer.
Edexcel's formula sheet gives you the sphere and cone volume formulae, sine rule, cosine rule, and the area of a triangle formula. It does NOT give you the quadratic formula, so learn that one by heart before the exam.
If a question has several steps, keep the full calculator display (or at least 4-5 significant figures) between steps and only round your final answer to the accuracy asked for. Rounding after step one and using the rounded figure in step two is one of the most common accuracy-mark losses on calculator papers.
Before you rely on a calculator answer, do a rough estimate in your head. If your calculator gives you a house costing 5p or a probability greater than 1, you have mistyped something. Catching this costs seconds and saves marks.
Edexcel often uses part (a) to set up information you need in part (b) or (c). If you get stuck on a later part, check whether an earlier answer is the missing piece.
The errors examiners see most on this paper. Each one is an easy mark you already know how to keep.
Confusing frequency density with frequency when drawing or reading a histogram → Always divide frequency by class width to get the bar height. When reading a histogram, multiply bar height by class width to get frequency back
Treating tree diagram branches as independent when the question says 'without replacement' → Without replacement means the second set of branches changes, both the numbers and the totals. Redraw the tree with updated values for the second pick
Using the wrong bound (rounding up instead of down, or vice versa) in a bounds question → For a value rounded to the nearest whole number, the lower bound is 0.5 below and the upper bound is 0.5 above. Write both bounds out explicitly before answering
Finding the new amount instead of the original amount in a reverse percentage question → If a price has increased by 20% to £120, that £120 represents 120% of the original, not 100%. Divide by 1.2, do not multiply by 0.8
Rounding a calculator answer too early in a multi-step problem → Keep the unrounded value on your calculator display and carry it into the next step. Only round the final answer to the degree of accuracy the question asks for
The 60 minutes before you walk in. Review what you know and settle your nerves.
You do not revise maths by reading it. Work exam-style questions in PrepWise, get them marked instantly, and see exactly which topics still cost you marks.
Open the Maths Knowledge Organisers, quiz every priority topic and walk in ready. Free during alpha.
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